Charles peelet



CHARLES PnRLnY,` or NEW YORK, N. Y.

Letters Patent No. 75,048, dated March 3, 1868.

IMPROVED SHOE.

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TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: l

Be it known that I, CHARLES PERLEY, ofthe city and State of New York, have invented, made, and applied to use a certain new and useful'Improvemcnt in Shoes; and I do hereby declare the following to be'a full, clear, and exact description of the said invention, reference being had to the annexed drawing, making part of this specification, wherein- Figure 1 is a side view of my improved shoe.

Figure 2 is a rear view of said shoe, representing vthe mode of lacing, and

Figure 3 is a sectional plan at the line x x, figs. 1 and 2.

Similar marks of reference denote the same parts.

In boots there is of necessity a. space in the rear portion, above the heel, that allows the boot to be drawn upon the foot, but which space is not filled either by the heel or ankle. In shoes the rear portion has been shaped with a. view to accommodate the heel, but the opening being along the instep, to be laced up or butto'ned, or else at the sides closed with elastic webbing, the shoe is often strained and injured by being pulled on, and the back seam generally is the iirstportion to give way.

A'Ihe nature of my said invention consists in a shoe that is opened down the back or heel-portion, to allow the same to be slipped easily over the foot, and provided with a padded tongue, and laced up or buttoned at the back portion, thereby allowing for the variation' in the size and shape of the wearers heel, and insuringr the proper fit of the shoe at the heel, so that there willnot be any motion of chaing of the foot against the shoe. I also employ pads to the shoe inside the rear portion, so that they come above the heel and at the sides ofthe tendon, filling up the space and rendering' the shoe a better shape, at the same time preventing motion of the heel in the shoe.

In the drawing, a represents the sole of the shoe or boot; is the front portion of the uppers, shaped as usual, but of a size to extend around to the back of the footfeither made in one or more pieces of leather or other material, and terminating in the ilaps gg. e is the counter or heel-portion ofthe uppers, which is extended up in the form of a tongue, d, that is beneath the back lacing or fastening to close the space between the flaps y, and also to facilitate the drawing on of theshoe. I have shown,'in figs. 2 and 3, buttons e e, attached to the respective parts to receive the cord or string, shown in fig. 2 by red lines, which is twisted around and bound` from one button to another to draw up the flaps g toward each other, but any desired character of fastening may be employed. The paddingf, applied within the flaps g g, fills up the hollow portion of the ankle above the heel for the purposes aforesaid. A padding is applied at the inner side of the tongue d, to make the same more comfortable `at the point of contact of the boot with the foot, by equalizing and diffusing` the pressure of the lacing, and at the 'same time stiffening the said tongue. By the use of buttons on the tongue d, that take the cord in lacing up the shoe, that tongue is held in position, and cannot work aside from beneath the opening between the aps. I make use of an elastic eo'rd to lace up this shoe, the same being passedfrom one buttonto another; this allows a certain amount of elasticity, that relieves the buttons or fastenings from undue strain, makes the shoe more comfortableby yielding to strain, and contracting, keeps the boot or shoe to the shape of the foot in walking. The upper part of this shoe might be extended up in the'form of a boot if desired.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The padding, applied at j', within the rear portion of the shoe, for the purposes and lsubstantially as specified.

2. The tongue d, sti`ened with a padding, that also equalizes the pressure of the lacing on the foot, subf stantially as set forth.

3. The buttons or fastenings along the tongue d, between the iiapsgg, to hold said tongue pro-perlv in place, as specified. l A

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my signature, this twenty-fourth day of December, 1867.

CHARLES PERLEY.

Witnesses t Cms. H. SMITH, GEO. T. PINGKNEY. 

